many cling to that hope amid the ongoing fighting. now also outside in the countryside it is worth the struggle. >> partying in pyongyang. north korea celebrates launching a satellite into space, but nader says it is a missile test, and they are -- nato says it is a missile test, and they are not happy. his traditional cigar went to international stardom. today we look back at the life of music of draghi shankar -- ravi shankar. the syrian capital damascus has been hit by three explosives, and rebel forces say they are

making progress. this comes amid reports over the last few days syria has fired scud missiles. >> in the words of one of its residents, welcome. where mounds of garbage rise and the destitute struggle to make a living. this is what has become of the ancient city. he has lost his home and his job, so every day he sifts through filth and stench so he can feed his children. life is really bad. there is no work and money. that is why i come here to collect and rubbish. this revolution was supposedly about a better future and a

better tomorrow, and many residents still cling to that hope, and they believe the ongoing fighting, not just in the city but also in the countryside, is worth the struggle. a petrol now comes from a barrel at the side of the road. three times the price it was before the revolution. people queued for hours in the cold for bread, now 10 times more expensive and in short supply. the bombardment has subsided, but the suffering has not, and the fighting has moved elsewhere. we joined the rebels on an operation, running across open ground to avoid sniper fire. now the fighters are laying siege to an infantry training school. the free syrian army controls most of the land here, and so

the 300 government troops inside know they are surrounded. no reinforcements to come. the rebels have already overrun other bases, and with each victory, they seek stronger weapons. this gives away their position. the gun is loaded, and the rebels take game. they miss and get ready to try again. a government new fighter jet has been spotted, and the fighters have to run for cover. although the government has been weakened, it has not been defeated, and we look at a fighter jet. it has been doing circles around.

>> back in aleppo, the sun has set, and the streets start to empty. the power was cut days ago. as night falls, the dark and damp consumer the city. the few who do remain outside are still queueing for bread. they have been shelled and shot at, and as winter set in, they are cold, hungry, and desperate. normal life has been suspended. families hunkered down on building sites and in empty schools. railings for a washing line. a classroom for all home. refugees in their own city, where children sleep by candlelight, huddled together by war. it is hard not to think that they, too, are under siege.

>> a pretty desperate look at life inside of aleppo. the syrian opposition got a boost when they came together to recognize the syrian national coalition and the sole representative of the syrian people. good for more on what this means we can speak to richard hart, the president for the council on foreign relations. thank you for joining me. this is not going to do much when it comes to ousting assad. >> that is probably right. it does not affect the balance on the battlefield, but it seems to be moving their way. not as quickly as people would like, but things are moving in their direction. >> reports coming out of serious adjust the groups that are making the most progress against the -- reports coming out of

syria suggest the groups that are making the most progress, but they do not want to arm the rebels, but how you stop them from making progress and taking over the country and not the group you want? it is an incredibly tricky position. >> it reminds me of afghanistan. often the best fighters are not the ones that spend their time reading. this is not even a limited to the middle east. civil wars rarely bring to the for the sorts of people that are quiet intellectuals. street fighters and the rest are the most ideologically motivated, so the longer this goes on, it should not surprise anybody the most dynamic element of the opposition is also the most radical. >> isn't an argument for army and the groups within the rebel units who might be more supportive in the long run of america and the west?

>> there is something to that. it is hard to pick and choose, but there is a case for differentiating, of saying, we are going to try to advance certain people in the opposition. we should not kid ourselves even though they use the word coalition. it is not a single unit by any stretch of the imagination, so why don't we look for military and intelligence support for those individuals and groups who can do effective fighting? we think we are more likely to move indirections' we think we can support. there might not be that large a set of people that can fit those criteria. >> how much support you think the u.s. is giving those groups at the moment? >> it is my understanding is fairly modest. it is mostly nonlethal aid. with few exceptions, i do not think the problem facing the

opposition is lack of arms. they have captured a lot. there have been some defections, so while they could probably use anti armor and anti helicopter tight arms, they have more than enough. i think it is more the organization and their leadership, and that is where training and advice they might be more important than furnishing specific armaments. >> thank you. in defiance of international warnings, north korea has gone away with successful -- gone ahead with successful rocket launches. pyongyang says it was to put the satellite in orbit, but the un says it was a missile test. --northcom rihanna's rocket north. 's rocket. it rose to -- north korea's

rocket. it rose in defiance. the north hailed this as a great achievement. this is a country where many go hungry for lack of food, but today they've had a street party to celebrate. from its launch pad, the rocket shot past stock. and japan. both countries worry they could be -- shot past south korea and japan. both countries worry they could be targets. we were invited to visit. taken past empty fields, the first attempt at firing a rocket. the one we saw exploded minutes after takeoff. it was an embarrassing failure for the new leader, kim jong un. not yet 30 years old, he is the

third generation of his family to rule. some hoped he would been our reformer. he is acquiring missiles and nuclear bombs. not feeding his people but trying to make them feel proud of their nation is strong with weapons powerful enough to deter any enemy. >> the united kingdom condemns this launch. it is a breach of resolutions, because it involves the use of ballistic missile technology, so we are summoning the north the nextbassador arabout step. >> no. 3 of's ambassador headed to london for stern warnings, -- north korea's ambassador headed to london for stern warnings. it is already isolated. its main ally, china, is

unlikely to let you in impose tough new sanctions, so it will probably continue to develop rockets and bombs. -- china is unlikely to let the un impose tough new sanctions, so it will probably continue to develop rockets and bombs. >> i spoke to victor, the fellow for strategical international studies. victor, we have become used to these north korean launches not working. how worried are you by the successful one? >> i think it was definitely a surprise. i think the general view was that they tried so many times and failed, with the last one being the most spectacular failure. this was a successful launch in which they demonstrated the ability to lift a payload into orbit, which suggests they have long-range ballistic missile

technology, and that is a big step they have made. >> does it give north korea more clout when it comes to possible negotiations? >> i think that is one motivation for doing this, but it puts them a stronger position where they can go to those new governments in korea and japan and say they are stronger, but the main reason is strategic. they want to become a nuclear weapons capable state, and this has been a national objective for decades. >> what can the world do to stop that from happening? >> i think what the united states and others are going to do is go to the u.n. security council and try to lengthen the list of sanctions against north korea. it is the most sanctioned country in the world, but the real question is is there anything you can do beyond that? they are still able to cross the threshold, and even if it is a few years before they could put a nuclearized warhead on a

missile, there is nothing we are doing now that is impeding the process, and whether it is a few years from now or a year from now, it is coming, and we do not have an answer for it. >> how concerned are you buy what we are looking at at the moment? >> i think if you step back from the specifics of the launch, we have to realize we are now in a situation where you have a small, isolated country that is the first country outside of china and the soviet union to demonstrate long-range ballistic missile technology, and it is a country that has a horrible proliferation record. this is not just a problem associated with north korean on the peninsula. it has broader ramifications. >> thank you for coming in. very interesting. russian president vladimir putin has warned against foreign intervention in russian politics a.

in its first speech to parliament, he also said russia needed to reverse its population decline or fall apart. daniel sandford reports. [speaking russian] >> showing few signs of recent back problems, vladimir putin strolled into one of the great halls of the kremlin for a speech that cements a new era of his leadership, and he suggests head upon the need to address russian population decline, a loss of more than 7 million people in just 20 years. >> of russia wants to be sovereign and power, there needs to be more of us, and we need to be better. >> this has been a difficult year for him with hundred thousand -- with hundreds of thousands of protesters taking to the streets to challenge his leadership, and he accused the

opposition of being funded from overseas. >> foreign interference in russian politics is unacceptable, whether it is direct or indirect. those who get foreign funding for activities cannot be funded in russia. >> although vladimir putin won comfortably in this year's elections, this was a crucial moment, a chance to set the tone, to stabilize the government after a year of protests and dissent. despite clear discontent in moscow in recent months, what he served to the political elite was a promise of continuity and already in progress. he whacks a completely new program, i do not say it is possible, and those who expected to be completely new, i think

they are overplaying the capacity to renew themselves, but he is consistent. ♪ >> the speech also had echoes of an older history, an appeal to patriotism and moral values of the path. russia's leaders know there could be choppy waters ahead politically and economically. >> still to come, scientists search a remote part of our own planet, looking for life. gaga, president obama, and the pope. what do they have in common? they are communicating with their followers in 140 characters or less. the pope has said his first --

sent his first tweet from pontifex. >> now it was time for something completely new, time for the pope to launch himself into a triple threat. the first week, all over the internet. the pope still prefers writing willnghand, so his wheatweets be taught for him. the thoughts will be his own. the debate on twitter is not always the most respectful kind. will the pope cope? >> there is a risk, but it is the risk of going into a public square. anyone can say anything. there is some shocking. millions of people want to

listen respectfully, and we think twitter is a good way to do that. >> in the shower of st. peter's, the first reactions were good. >> most of my children are tweaking, -- tweeting, so they will really connect. they will realize he has been helped along the way, but those little snippets of information are coming to them directly from the holy father are wonderful. >> this place is getting used to a modern way and sending out its 2000-year-old christian message. >> forget about mars. scientists are starting to look for signs of life in a remote and freezing part of our own planet. british researchers are the latest to start drilling into an

ancient lake in antarctica. more on what they are looking for. >> in the bitter cold in one of the remotest corners of antarctica, this a british team is trying something extraordinary, to explore a hidden world of lies underneath the ice. these are the latest pictures. everything about this project is a challenge. all the equipment is sterilized. the plastic keep it clean, because they aim is to search for life in a lake under the ice. >> we are very close to the center, where the ice beneath me is 2 miles thick, and it is 10 kilometers in length, two or 3 kilometers wide. >> below this camp on the ice, what is in a lake? a strange body of water isolated from the outside world for up to

half a million years. the exploration is about understanding the limits of where life is possible, and it is incredibly ambitious. they fired a drill that uses hot water to get through the ice. once that is done, cameras and a collection system will be lowered into the lake to collect samples. when they are brought back to the surface, we will find out if there is life. to keep the drill running, i huge store of snow is needed, ready to be melted and come into the lake. the fuel supply is limited. there is only one chance to get this right, and it is now starting. >> this is an important step. this is what the last three years have been building up to, the start of melting snow. i did not get much sleep last night. we are all a bit tense this morning. >> what is driving the effort is a basic exploration, to see

if there is anything alive under the ice, in total darkness, and under pressure. if water samples make it to the camp, they will be checked for microbes and bacteria. evidence of life and the most extreme conditions. we will hear what they discover next week. >> that looks very chilly. ravi shankar was called the godfather of world music, and looking at the list of those he collaborated with, you can tell why. his sit are playing made an impression around the globe. shankar died in california at the age of 92. his daughter norridge jones said he will be missed by music level -- nora jones said he will be missed by music lovers everywhere. >> it was not just music. it was a path to spiritual

enlightenment. he started as an indian classical dancer and spent seven years learning the sitar. his fame quickly spread. it was george harrison who sought him out as part of his own spiritual quest which made him truly famous in the west. >> he is the only person who did not try to impress me. it was by his being he taught me so much without actually saying a word. it is by example. >> he has become one of the dearest people in my life, and i love him like my son, but we are at the same time great friends. >> george's sit are playing made its way into the beatles' own music. -- sitar playing made its way

into the beatles' own music. shankar played at george harrison's concert for bangladesh in new york. he preferred to keep his distance. >> i could have made billions by now, but i never thought of that. i wanted to keep the sanctity of music. >> two of his daughters became musicians. the jazz singer nora jones and a sitar player like her father. >> what is great about my relationship with him is we have a father daughter relationship. we have a teacher and student relationship and are also musical collaborators and perform together, so it is a very tight-knit, very close relationship. >> he was a man for whom music was part of an oral tradition handed down from two route to route. -- from guru to guru.

and art with which she inspired musicians for 70 years. >> he died at the age of 92. he will be missed by music lovers around the world. that brings the program to a close. you can get updates on our web site. if you would like to reach me, you can follow me on a switcher. i will see you tomorrow. -- on twitter. >> make sense of international news at bbc.com/news. >> funding for this presentation is made possible by the freeman foundation of new york, stowe, vermont, and honolulu. newman's own foundation. and union bank.

>> at union bank, our relationship managers use their expertise in global finance to we offer expertise in a wide range of industries. picking day! we're going

to the enchanted garden to pick fruit. and then, we're going to help my dad build a playhouse. we have a lot to do today. i'm glad you're here. be right back! is made possible in part by... the richard king mellon foundation. dedicated for over sixty years to south western pennsylvania's quality of life, and competitive future. and by these pittsburg foundations. working together to enhance and enrich the lives of children for more than seventy-five years.

and by the arthur vining davis foundations. dedicated to strengthening america's future through education. adcasting, dedicated to strengthening america's future and contributions to your pbs station, from viewers like you. ♪ and contributions to your pbs station, ♪ a beautiful day for a neighbor ♪ ♪ would you be mine, could you be mine ♪ ♪ won't you be my neighbor? - ♪ it's daniel tiger's neighborhood ♪ ♪ a land of make-believe ♪ won't you ride along with me? ♪ - ♪ ride along - ♪ it's daniel tiger's neighborhood ♪ ♪ so much to do, so much to see ♪ ♪ won't you ride along with me? ♪ - ♪ ride along - ♪ i've got lots of friends for you to meet ♪ ♪ in this land of make-believe ♪ a friendly face on every street ♪ ♪ just waiting to greet you ♪ it's a beautiful day in the neighborhood ♪

♪ a beautiful day for a neighbor ♪ ♪ in daniel tiger's neighborhood ♪ - hi, neighbor! today is fruit picking day! i hope we get to pick strawberries. do you like strawberries? they are my favorite fruit. - hi, daniel! are you excited to pick fruit for the whole neighborhood? - yes! i can't wait! - me neither. - hi, trolley! - hello, trolley. here we go. - trolley, please take us to the enchanted garden for fruit picking day. you're going to love it. - ♪ we're going to the enchanted garden ♪ ♪ to pick some fruit won't you ride along with me? ♪ - ♪ ride along! won't you ride along with me? ♪ - here we are! - thanks, trolley! - bye, trolley! - i can open the garden door, dad. i just have to press 3 red roses.